Cassel

Cassel, a partly-walled Prussian town, once the capital of the electorate of Hesse Cassel, now chief town of the province of Hesse Cassel, on the river Fulda, a bridge over which connects the old town with the lower new town. The streets of the new town are some of the finest in Germany, and the Friedrichs Platz is the largest square of Germany. Fronting this square are the residence of the former electors, and the Museum, which contains a library of 100,000 volumes, and among other curiosities a fine collection of clocks and watches, including the "Nuremberg Egg." There is also a fine collection of paintings at Bellevue Castle. In the neighbourhood of Cassel is the summer palace of Wilhelmshohe, where Napoleon resided after the defeat of Sedan. In the park is a colossal figure 31 ft. high of the Farnese Hercules. Baron Bunsen was a native of Cassel, and Spohr conducted the orchestra at the Opera House. The manufactures and trade are considerable, and there are many breweries.